113 



this year's crop is due to tiie fact that poor land was used for plant- 

 ing, that fertilizer was not used, that the cultivation was indifferent, 

 and that the cotton was picked before it had sufficiently matured. 



Experiments have proved that a good quality of of Sea Island 

 cotton can be grown in Porto Rico which will average a yield of 

 1,200 to 1,700 pounds per acre. Suitable land can be procured 

 for about $40.00 per acre. 



As yet neither the Boll Weevil nor other serious pests has made 

 its appearance. The caterpillars have done some inconsiderable 

 damage but they were quickly exterminated by the use of Paris 

 Green — they only attacked the leaves and generally left the bolls 

 uninjured. 



COCO-NUTS. 



Coco-nut trees are scattered all through the island but grow to 

 best advantage along the coast, and where these trees can be 

 found in any large number close to some shipping point the coco- 

 nuts can be handled quite profitably. There are some few groves 

 on the island now in full bearing and many more are being set 

 out. About fifty trees are planted to the acre and a good crop 

 can be gathered at the end of the seventh year with a correspond- 

 ing increase in the quantity of coco-nuts as the trees become older. 

 Coco-nut trees require very little care from the time they are 

 planted until they come into full bearing, and land suitable for the 

 growing of coco-nuts can be bought as low as $10.00 per acre, 

 but the price increases according to the proximity to a shipping 

 point. 



THE NATURE AND COMMERCIAL USES OF 

 BEN OIL.* 



[The first part of the article condenses the information published 

 in the Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Jamaica, Jan., 

 1904, on MORINGA, then comes the following : — ] 



A firm of oil manufacturers in Kingston, Jamaica, have recently 

 made an experiment to ascertain the cost of production of the oil. 

 They paid 8s. per cwt. for the seed, and found that the husks 

 constituted 40 per cent, and the decorticated seeds 60 per 

 cent. The seed when expressed warm, but not hot, yielded 

 about 12^ lbs. of oil per cwt. Their final result showed a cost of 

 £80 per ton for the oil. A sample of this oil was sent to England 

 for valuation, and a report was received which stated that " Oil of 

 Ben" was now superseded by an oil obtained from the head of the 

 sperm whale, and that the value of the sample submitted was 

 about equal to that of the best cotton seed oil. 



In May, 1903, a small specimen of Ben oil was supplied to Dr. 

 J. Lewkowitsch from the Imperial Institute. A report on this 

 sample has been published in " The Analyst, 1903," vol. 28, p. 343, 

 from which the following extract is taken : — " The chief interest 

 in this oil depends on its low iodine value ; this explains why the 



* From Bulletin of the Imperial Institute. II., 1904, pages 117-120. ■ 



